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Step 4 – Being Required to Take DPS Letter Mail to the Street During the Christmas Overtime Period

This case involved management requiring rural carriers to report late and then requiring carriers to take DPS letter mail directly to the street during Christmas overtime. The parties agree that there are certain situations where rural carriers can be required to take DPS letters directly to the street. Such situations ...

Step 4 – Business Customers Requesting Mail to Be Held on Saturday When Business Is Closed

This case involved management not allowing businesses closed on Saturday to have their mail held if they have a mail receptacle the carrier can deliver the mail to. The parties agree Form 1564-B is used to record customers’ special request for handling of their mail, which includes permanent special orders ...

Step 4 Settlement When Costing Rural Delivery versus Contract Delivery

This case involved management projecting the costing of rural delivery with a government vehicle so that the cost of CDS would show cheaper even though the Postal Service never intended to assign an LLV to the rural route. The parties agree that if management indicates that an Employer provided vehicle ...

Rural Carrier Hero: Angie Quintanilla, Eau Claire, MI

Eau Claire, MI, Rural Carrier Angie Quintanilla was delivering mail when she saw a man fall and injure himself. Quintanilla called 911 and administered first aid until responders arrived. After the man recovered, his wife called the Post Office to commend Quintanilla. Source: Eau Claire, MI, Rural Carrier Angie Quintanilla ...

Rural Carriers help occupants escape burning home

Honea Path, SC, Rural Carrier Lynda Alewine was delivering mail recently when she spotted smoke coming from a home. She waved down a co-worker, Rural Carrier Patricia Burnley, who was delivering packages nearby. As the women got closer, they saw flames shooting through the roof. “I’m sure we looked like ...

Rural Carrier Hero: Mark Abplanalp, Grant City, MO

Grant City, MO, Rural Carrier Mark Abplanalp delivered mail to a farm on a recent Tuesday. When he returned two days later, he noticed the mail was untouched. That’s when Abplanalp’s instincts kicked in. He called the sheriff, who began searching for the farmer with help from the man’s son-in-law ...

Rural Carrier Hero: Christina Waltz, Greene, NY

Christina Waltz knows a clue when she sees one. Waltz, a rural carrier in Greene, NY, recently noticed mail piling inside a customer’s box. She knocked on his door but no one answered, so she looked through a window and spotted a glass of orange juice. The pulp had settled ...

Rural Carrier Hero: Crystal Wilburn, South Shore, KY 

South Shore, KY, Rural Carrier Crystal Wilburn noticed mail piling up in a customer’s box. She knocked on his front door and heard a faint cry. With help from a neighbor, Wilburn entered the house, found the man in dire need of medical care and called 911. He was taken ...

Rural Carrier Hero: Susan Stewart, Bedford, KY 

Bedford, KY, Rural Carrier Susan Stewart was delivering mail to a house when she heard the customer inside calling for help. Stewart found the man lying on the floor where he been for hours after he fell out of his wheelchair. The man declined emergency assistance, but asked her to ...

On October 1, 1896, rural free delivery (RFD) service began

On October 1, 1896, rural free delivery (RFD) service began in Charles Town, Halltown, and Uvilla in West Virginia, Postmaster General Wilson’s home state. Within a year, 44 routes were operating in 29 states. Just five days before Christmas in 1899, the Post Office Department decided to experiment with extending ...

AZ RCA helps elderly man after he falls

Tucson, AZ, Rural Carrier Associate Lisa Stewart was in the process of delivering mail along her route recently when she saw an alarming scene unfold before her. An older man was walking nearby when he stumbled over a collection of river rocks and fell to the ground. To complicate matters, ...

USPS RCA: Rural Carrier Associate – YouTube

Looking for a career change in an industry that’s challenging yet rewarding? Then you may be a good fit for our Rural Carrier Associate position! Learn straight from USPS RCAs on why they love their jobs ...

Texas Rural Carrier uses vehicle to shield injured woman

Granbury, TX, Rural Carrier Winter Rexroat was delivering mail when she noticed a woman lying in the road. The woman was unresponsive, so Rexroat called 911 and positioned her vehicle to shield her. Rexroat stayed with the woman until paramedics arrived and treated her. The local fire chief, Stephen Boynton, ...

Rural Carrier helps prevent train disaster

After a heavy night of rain, Logan, IA, Rural Carrier Candace Marcum noticed signs of storm damage along her route the next day. As she passed by a particular bridge supporting a set of train tracks, she noticed the banks below it had disintegrated from the storm. While the bridge ...

Employee’s personal touch makes customers feel at home

Dublin, NH, Rural Carrier Margaret Schillemat is nothing short of a one-person welcoming committee. When new residents are added to her route, she mails them a handwritten note welcoming them to town and highlighting local attractions. Schillemat, the only carrier in the roughly 1,600-person town, believes the notes help bring ...

USPS Starts Service Performance Measurement (SPM) Sampling on Rural Routes Starting Saturday, September 19, 2015

The NRLCA is aware that many carriers have already been given service talks on the Service Performance Measurement (SPM) over the last couple of weeks. The USPS prematurely put out talks and begin dates prior to the NRLCA and the USPS agreeing on the terms for this new work function ...

Rural Carrier Hero: John Shoop, Bemus Point, NY

Bemus Point, NY, Rural Carrier John Shoop was delivering mail when he noticed smoke coming from a house and called 911. Firefighters arrived and extinguished the blaze. The homeowners later credited Shoop with saving the house and the pets inside. Source: John Shoop, Bemus Point, NY | USPS News Link ...